


Battles, Admissions and Mysterious Powers

by Galdr



Series: Tales of the Mystery Dungeons AU [5]
Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 10:10:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19207240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galdr/pseuds/Galdr
Summary: Flynn and Yuri explore and get through the Lush Prairie mystery dungeon. During the fights, Yuri finally learns he can use the technique Force Palm, among other mysteries that Flynn brings to his attention.





	Battles, Admissions and Mysterious Powers

“Yuri, to your left!”

The aforementioned grimaced as he dodged the Tackle attack of his opponent: a round, green Pokémon with a yellow flower on its head called Skiploom. According to Flynn, it was a Grass and Flying type Pokémon, which meant Yuri was going to have a little bit of trouble fighting against it. Flynn was dealing with a strange Pokémon—well, certainly strange in Yuri’s eyes—and had to evade its attacks, too. It was pretty small, covered in green leaves all over with its black face visible. It kept generating this odd power and throwing it at Flynn. The pair had been slightly ambushed by the two feral Pokémon, even though Yuri had sensed them coming.

Though Flynn was battling, he still had the time to “direct” Yuri’s movements! Jeez.

“Hey shouldn’t you be paying attention to your fight?!” Yuri replied back as he attempted another forceful attack on the Skiploom. It didn’t seem to do much damage to it since he wasn’t using a technique, but it was all he had.

“I am, thank you very much!” Flynn answered hurriedly as he evaded another attack—Hidden Power—from his opponent, which was a Burmy in Plant Cloak. The Pikachu skidded to his feet and then lunged at the Burmy with a well-placed Quick Attack, knocking it aside. That gave him a second to check on his friend and he slightly turned his head so he could see Yuri from the corner of his eye, “Just be careful!”

“I _am_ being careful!” Yuri exclaimed as he met Flynn’s eye but that second cost him. The enemy Skiploom dove for him at that moment, using Tackle to knock him down. With a grunt, Yuri tumbled, bounced once and landed on his stomach. “Ouch,” he groaned, grimacing as he stood. The annoying wild Pokémon was coming at him again. Good grief, no reprieve!

“I said be careful!” The Pikachu halfway yelled but then got slammed into by the Burmy for not watching out himself.

“Wow, thanks genius! And you told _me_ to be careful!” Yuri felt the fur all over his body raise as the Skiploom went for another Tackle attack, but he ducked under it. The thing went over him and nearly crashed into the wall of bushes behind him. Scrambling to get up, Yuri then aimed another regular attack punch at the Skiploom from behind!

“Just pay attention to what’s in front of you!” Flynn called back.

Wow, this whole exchange was completely familiar to Yuri. He felt like he and Flynn had done this several times now and that they’d fallen into friendly, rivalry banter with each other of some sort. It felt like they’d been doing this for years to come and that this was the norm: in the middle of fighting enemies while having the time to throw snarky comments at one another. It didn’t help that Flynn’s name was the name of a friend of his that he still couldn’t exactly recall. The two apparently kept up their banter even as they were dodging and exchanging blows at their opponents.

“Oh, and you aren’t? Jeez, Flynn! By the way, watch out.”

“I’m perfectly capable of watching my back, Yuri.”

“I can watch mine, too.”

“With how you’re handling things now, you certainly aren’t.”

“Hey now, that thing’s coming at you again.”

Flynn tensed and evaded, using another Quick Attack to punish the Burmy for attacking him. The wild Pokémon squealed and went down, having fainted from exhaustion and the bruises it suffered. Meanwhile, Yuri gave the irate Skiploom his full attention and shoved his paw into its face just as it was about to Tackle him again. The force of the attack pushed it away from him a mild distance. It went down, which had Yuri elated.

“Hey, I beat that thing,” he said with a grin. Flynn watched as the Riolu proudly puffed himself up and tilted his head. “Heh, I knew I’d get the hang of it, eventually. Just had to practice!”

However, Yuri’s hopes were dashed when the Skiploom began to glow green and soon, it was upright again. Most of its bruises were patched up, but it was still at enough health to keep going. Both Pikachu and Riolu had seen this, the latter staring in disbelief.

“Um, no you didn’t, Yuri,” Flynn pointed out matter-of-factly. “Seems to be in good health to me.” The way Flynn said this had a tad bit of sarcasm applied. Growling a bit, both from frustration and Flynn’s response, Yuri stepped forward, paws clenched into fists.

“Shut up, Flynn. I’ll handle it this time for good.” He darted forward, getting into a run. He was getting better at coordinating his new legs and feet, not really stumbling anymore, which was a bonus in his book. Just as he neared, the enemy Skiploom was shining green again!

“It’s using Synthesis to heal itself! Hurry and knock it out!” Flynn’s voice called out.

“Will do!” Yuri called back, rearing his right paw back, “As soon as I smash its face in again with that attack I did earlier.” When he was close enough, Yuri let his instincts take over again and thrust his right paw out. He just wanted to beat this thing!

Soon, a sudden surge of an unknown feeling sparked through his body and channeled into his arms. A small, blue wave was pushed out of out just as it made physical contact! The wild Cottonweed Pokémon screeched again in pain and fell to the ground, unable to keep itself afloat. It appeared shaken, unable to move despite it having enough health to fight.

“That was Force Palm, Yuri!” The joy from Flynn’s voice was evident as Yuri had wondered what had happened. He turned briefly to the Pikachu who was waving his arms above his head excitedly. “You did it! You just used a technique!”

He…did? That… That was a technique? This Force Palm? Was that the feeling he got just as he was attacking? Could he emulate that again? ‘ _Only one way to find out,_ ’ he thought with a grin. Yes, he could do this!

Finding that feeling within him again was quite hard since he’d been on autopilot a little while ago. He wanted to win, to beat this wild Pokémon and leave! That was what he had been feeling before. Channeling that seemed to do the trick since the odd surge circulated through his body once again, like water trying to break out of a dam. He’d put his all into it! Rearing his right arm back, Yuri thrust it forward again with a victorious cry of “Hah!” and punished the Skiploom with another direct in-your-literal-face Force Palm!

It landed a _critical hit_!

The enemy Pokémon tumbled and rolled away, this time not getting up from its position on the ground. It had been defeated and it fainted, unable to withstand the paralysis and the assault. Panting a bit from that exertion, Yuri straightened, took in a deep breath to calm his beating heart and shaking limbs and watched the Skiploom for a moment longer, waiting to see if it’d get up.

It didn’t.

He…he won? He… He did!

Yuri smiled triumphantly. Heh, he knew he’d do it. Believing in himself and his abilities certainly did the trick! Although, the victory grin wore off when another spike of energy ran through him, causing him to shudder a little. W-Whoa, what was that?

“You did it, Yuri! You won your first battle!” Flynn congratulated him as he ran up to him, “I knew you could do it!”

“Yeah,” he answered softly, shaking the strangeness of whatever he felt a second ago off and puffed his chest out proudly again, “Yeah! I _told_ you I’d get the hang of this eventually. Just had to practice!” He purposefully parroted himself just to see the Pikachu’s reaction.

Flynn sighed a bit in exasperation and looked unimpressed. Yuri chuckled at this.

“Still, you figured out how to pull off a technique for the first time. How did it feel?”

Relaxing since the danger and battle was over, Yuri dropped his arms to his sides and thought on the feeling he felt not long ago. “Hmm, it felt like… like when a river has so much water and a dam is blocking it. The water’s pushing to be freed and break through the dam.” He glanced down at his arms and shook them a little, “I was a also sort of frustration. I wanted to win and leave. Then,” he closed his right paw, forming it into a fist, “I had released it all into that Force Palm.”

Flynn was silent through the explanation, eyes closed as his arms were crossed. It was a tad unnerving, since Yuri didn’t know if that was a _good_ approval or not.

“So… is that a normal occurrence or is that just me?”

“No. No, that’s a perfectly normal reaction,” Flynn answered, reassuring his friend, “Bent up frustration is an emotion. Every Pokémon can use their emotions to their advantage and disadvantage. Your species in particular are sensitive to emotions and perhaps, you’ve used that to boost your attack. Maybe feeling upset was the trigger and giving into your innate ability as a Pokémon finally opened the way for your body to adapt and use a technique.” The Pikachu scratched behind one of his ears, “I’m only theorizing here, so don’t use this as actual proof.”

“Huh. But, it seems to make sense to me. I _had_ allowed impulses to basically take over.” Yuri shook his head, “Y’know, since that last fight with that Yamna thing and even this one, I was fighting like I was still human. Something felt missing when I did, but I have no idea why or what it could be.”

“…Does that mean you remembered something else about yourself?”

“No. I mean, that stance I fell into the first time. You mentioned it could be because that was how I fought as a human or it could be something unique to my species. We both don’t know that because we haven’t seen any others like me. But, it got me thinking… Maybe it was from something I knew as human.”

Curious and confused, Flynn shook his head. “What does that mean, then?”

“I think it means I might have, you know, remembered where it came from without actually _remembering_. Y’know, like a gut feeling.” Putting a paw to his chin, Yuri leaned a little on his left and frowned, though continued, “When I gave into my compulsions as a Pokémon, all of that left me and I went into simply ‘fighting to win’, if that makes sense. I had foregone what it meant to fight as a human and just put my fists up to attack.” His arm dropped back down and he sighed, “It’s kind of hard to explain this.”

“I think… I think I get what you mean.”

“Do you? I don’t want my mind to revert into some battle-hungry magically-infused animal when I’m really not.”

Flynn blinked. “Uh, what?”

“Never mind. The point is that I want to keep my human sanity without losing it. That power I felt when I used Force Palm was a great feeling. I’m glad I can fight properly for myself without relying on you too much, don’t get me wrong. But at the same time, I don’t want to forget what it’s like being human. Rather, forget what’s _left_ of being a human feels like.” Yuri glanced down at himself and tightened his fists again, “I still want to return to what I was like before. This…” He gestured to himself, “This isn’t _me_. I have to remind myself of this.”

The Pikachu had stared at Yuri, feeling rather sympathetic. He knew this was all very new for Yuri, but he hadn’t really realized how odd and problematic it truly was. He believed that Yuri would adapt and live as a Pokémon for a while as they searched for anyone that knew him, leaving out the fact he was a human. He wanted to console and comfort Yuri, but he wasn’t exactly sure how he could. If the reverse had happened, if Flynn had been transformed into a human from being a Pokémon, he knew it would be difficult for him to adapt, too. It would…

It would…

_…Fair hair, blue eyes, white armor…_

W-What?

Yuri was still talking but Flynn had zoned out completely as an image had spontaneously entered his mind for a split second. What? What was _that_!? What had he just seen?! Who? He’d never seen anything like that before! He didn’t know when his paws had reached up to touch his face or his head, nor when he had been staring directly at the ground for a long time. That—that image! What had that been about? Was that some kind of Pokémon?! No, it couldn’t have been.

“…nn. …arth to Flynn!” Yuri’s voice snapped him out of his trance, a blue paw waving in his face as the other was on his shoulder, shaking him a little. He immediately recoiled and jumped in fright, shaken.

“Wh-what!?” Flynn suddenly exclaimed. Yuri dropped his arms again and stared at him quizzically, not taking any offense from the random outburst.

“You were looking dazed there,” he said, “After a moment, I stopped when I noticed you were spaced out. Had to do something, y’know.”

Relieved a little, Flynn sighed and tried to relax, ears partially lowering. He managed to mutter a soft “Oh…” as he rubbed the back of his head anxiously.

“That was some deep thinking you had going there. Is something on your mind?”

The Pikachu was just about to open his mouth and tell Yuri the odd image he had just seen but found himself stopping short. What could he even say to the other Pokémon that would make this convincing? How should he phrase it? Rather, _should_ he mention it at all? It was completely bizarre and random, plus he wasn’t exactly certain _how_ he could describe it without making absolutely zero sense. An unnatural chill ran through his body, making him shiver a little. He awkwardly glanced away from Yuri, frowning and finding the ground much more interesting.

“I don’t really know. I guess I did space out there,” Flynn answered and looked up with a weak smile. Yuri’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. For a moment, Flynn spied Yuri’s grey eyes flash into red—the true color of a Riolu’s eye—as they had a staring contest.

“…That’s the wrong answer,” Yuri said, sounding irritated, “You realize I can _sense_ what you feel, right?”

Oh…damn! Flynn had completely forgotten about that! What with his internal monologue thoughts going on, he didn’t think about anything else. This wasn’t looking good and it seemed the other had similar thoughts. “I-I know that. Come on, we should… should get going,” he managed to say and deflect the conversation. Or tried to, that is. The Pikachu didn’t even make it a step away before Yuri’s paws seized his small shoulders with the Fighting-type narrowing his gaze.

“What the hell, Flynn! You’re _panicking_ now. We’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s wrong,” he demanded, “A moment ago, you were scared. What’s going on?”

If this were any other moment, Flynn would have told Yuri just how quickly it took him to truly adapt to his Riolu form and sensing emotions of others. That or he was super sensitive altogether and it all merged together. It hadn’t taken the guy that long to master that skill apparently, and it surely wouldn’t be that long until he adjusted to his new body. But, that was another topic for another conversation much, _much_ later.

Flynn tried to pry Yuri’s paws off but the Riolu had an incredibly strong grip.

“Nothing’s wrong!”

“You’re lying again.”

What was he, a lie detector test now?

“I’m telling the truth.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“Yuri!”

“Flynn!”

The Pikachu sighed, a tad in defeat and the other in mild frustration. If he didn’t say _anything_ , they’ll be stuck in this dungeon until Yuri got what he wanted. If that happened, they’d run into more wild Pokémon attacking them and likely run out of supplies. Yuri just seemed stupidly stubborn that way… and Flynn wasn’t sure _why_ he knew that his new friend was exactly like that. All things considered, they honestly couldn’t afford to be stuck here.

“…I can’t tell you right now,” Flynn decided to say, “Because I don’t know _how_ to really describe it. I saw something, like some weird image, but that’s all I can tell you about it.” He quickly snapped his head up to meet Yuri’s demanding gaze with one of his own. “Trust me on that, okay? I meant it when I said I don’t know. I just don’t know what I saw.”

The red in Yuri’s eyes faded and returned back to their normal grey as the Riolu appeared to release tension. He watched him straighten and release his shoulders but then his arms crossed as he tilted his head.

“And that’s _really_ it?”

“Yes, that’s really it.”

Yuri tapped his foot. He wasn’t sure why he reacted so strongly to Flynn’s sudden emotion there or so defensively of the other. Yeah, it was very likely due to his species as whole, but it was something else entirely. For whatever reason, he felt he just _had_ to know, find out what it could be and squash it. He hadn’t liked it at all. It felt alien to know there was a panicking, scared Flynn near him. For goodness sake, those two things didn’t belong together in the same sentence.

“…Fine, if that’s really all. We can go. We don’t want those two waking up or for reinforcements to appear.”

“Yeah.”

For a second, neither moved. Yuri didn’t because Flynn didn’t; the latter did say he knew the way out of here and Yuri relied on that intuition of his.

“…Aren’t you going to lead the way out?”

“…O-Oh! Oh, right!”

Yeah, whatever it was that had bothered Flynn really bugged him. He wasn’t finished with the Pikachu yet, but he’d leave him alone for now until he had things all straightened out. The Electric-type led the way again, using that ability of his to keep them on the path, bypassing through more of the hallways again. The awkward silence between them expanded but neither wanted to break said silence.

After some time, they entered another “room”, thankfully with no enemies nearby, but had a couple items lying around. Flynn had went over to pick up what appeared to be some coins and Yuri found an Orb. It looked the same as all the others, at least to him, but it had to be useful, right?

“Hey, what’s this?” He decided to break said silence betwixt them by engaging in a conversation about the item. Flynn walked over while depositing the money into his bag. He took a few seconds to analyze the object.

“Hmm. That’s an Invisify Orb. It turns the Pokémon who used it invisible for a short time.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Invisible? As in, like ghosts?”

“Exactly that. Other Pokémon won’t be able to see you.” Seeing the mischievous grin emerging on Yuri’s face at whatever ideas he was concocting, Flynn slightly narrowed his eyes and clarified, “That includes _allies_ as well, Yuri.” The thrilling delight didn’t leave the Riolu’s eyes and Flynn frowned in disapproval, returning back to his normal self. “Yuri…” he began in a warning tone.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m _not_ going to use this _at all_ ,” he replied, shoving the Orb into his bag. The “innocent” looking smile didn’t appease the Electric-type whatsoever. “Nope, no sirree. Not me. Absolutely. Not.”

“You expect me to believe that for even one second.”

Yuri simply shrugged indifferently. This was going to kick Flynn in his rear later, he knew it. Rolling his eyes at the possibility of Yuri using his new item deceptively later, Flynn began leading the way out again. Jeez, it wasn’t almost like Yuri was a little kid about to prank someone. ‘ _I only hope he doesn’t have that Prankster ability,_ ’ he thought to himself. Outside of battle, it could definitely cause undue disturbances with the Pokémon being incredibly prankish.

Without any further incident, they found the path leading out of the dungeon, thanks to Flynn’s intuition. The pressure of being inside a mystery dungeon left them relaxing a little more. The time spent in there surely made time fly, as it seemed a little past mid-afternoon.

“Whew, we made it,” Flynn said in relief, “We can rest here for awhile.”

“Great. My feet are killing me,” Yuri grumbled as he sat down, avoiding his tail as his bum connected with the ground. He sprawled out on the grass in an eagle position and sponged in the sunlight. Flynn chuckled as he sat down next to him, but didn’t lie back. Yuri closed his eyes for a second but soon felt that healing energy wash over him again. Sneaking a glance at the Pikachu, he realized he had used that Wish technique.

“Again?” He questioned but not disappointed.

“Yeah. As I said, we should sparingly use our Oran Berries unless we need to.”

“Right, right.”

There was a pause. Both didn’t want to disrupt the quiet, being content with it for now. The awkwardness had disappeared almost immediately which both were silently thankful for. Yuri took that time to glance at the odd gold band still adorned on his person. The gem inside of it glistened in the light of the sun’s rays, bringing about a mysteriousness with it. He wasn’t any closer figuring out what it could be, but that one that he had before… This “blastia”…

When he’d thought of it, he had immediately pinned his sight to this thing. What was a “blastia”? Why did he think of it as something they used to light things or use for water? What sort of connection did this band and that word have? It was baffling trying to figure it out and it gave Yuri a headache thinking about it.

“…Hey, Yuri.”

Hmm, that was Flynn’s voice again. Lowering his arm, Yuri turned his head towards the source.

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Uh-oh. Should I run to get an Exploration Team?”

Flynn playfully glared at the other Pokémon as he was chuckling. “Ha-ha, very funny,” Flynn said sarcastically. Yuri wasn’t ashamed whatsoever and grinned.

“Sorry, I couldn’t pass that one up. What’s on your mind?”

Would Flynn confess what he’d felt about earlier? Probably not, he shouldn’t get his hopes up too soon. That didn’t appear to be a topic the Pikachu wanted to bring up again. Not anytime soon, that is.

“Anyway. I’ve taken to noticing that band you’re wearing. I mean, I noticed it yesterday when we were walking around town but I hadn’t said anything about it.” He knew Yuri was listening to him, feeling his gaze as he kept talking, “Last night… I thought about it and it didn’t hit me until now.”

“What did?”

Flynn was quiet for a few seconds and Yuri believed he wouldn’t get an answer just like last time. However, he was proven incorrect when the former fished into his bag for a bit and then pulled out…

“… _What_ …?” Yuri blinked as the word came sliding out of his mouth. He quickly sat up, forgetting to think about resting as he fixed his eyes on the object that Flynn had in his paws. Yuri then looked at his own band and then back again to Flynn’s, repeating that two more times before he made eye contact with the Pikachu. Said gaze, once again, demanded another explanation.

One that Flynn couldn’t run from.

“…I’ve had this for a long time,” the aforementioned began, lifting the band up so that the sun reflected its light upon it. “I never knew what this really meant, I thought it was some old junk or keepsake of mine. So, I kept it. I would wear it sometimes, but I didn’t think it worked when I had it on.”

“…It doesn’t work?” Yuri found his voice after a bit to ask.

“Yeah. When I used to go traveling to the Beach Cave, down at the beach in Treasure Town, nothing I did would work. I fought wearing it, nothing happened—at least, I _think_ it didn’t.” There was a minute pause as Flynn slid the band on his right wrist. “I’d learn new techniques when I trained. So, I’d have to forget another technique in order for me to recall the newer one. That’s just how it works for us Pokémon. But…”

Flynn stared at the golden band, seeing a tiny bit of his reflection in it.

“I _didn’t_ forget those old moves. I still remembered them, which is odd. I slowly and surely figured out it was because I was wearing this thing when I trained and learned new techniques. When I took it off, the old moves I used to know wouldn’t be there anymore and I wouldn’t be able to use them. But, as soon as I had this on again, I’d know them.” Flynn shook his head and stood to his feet, “And that isn’t all. Watch this.”

Yuri kept his eyes glued to every movement Flynn made thereafter. The Pikachu raised his right arm and his cheeks began to spark as if he were powering up for a Thunderbolt attack. However, the gem in the band sparkled for a second as did something in the sky. Yuri quickly looked and spotted the mirage of a moon before a powerful orb of light had gathered in Flynn’s raised arm. He soon released that energy, flinging it in another direction. It soon petered out before it came in contact with anything.

What?!

Yuri must have said that aloud since Flynn sat back down and shrugged.

“… _That_ was the technique called Moonblast. It’s a very strong Fairy-type attack that many Fairy-type Pokémon can use.”

“Wait. Then how? Aren’t you an Electric-type?” Yuri wondered, becoming confused once more. Was there something he was missing here?

“That’s right. I’m only an Electric-type, yet I used a technique I could _never learn_. It’s all because of this little band I have on here. When I take it off, I can’t use Moonblast.”

Whoa, wow. That was incredible! Yuri peered down at his own band, wondering if it granted the same skills or abilities just like Flynn’s. Unless, he had to train more for it to do it? Was that how it worked? Did it require anything else special?

“I wonder if mine can do the same thing?”

“It probably could. You could give a try.”

The Riolu shot upwards in a second, grinning wide at the prospect of learning something new. “Alright, I’ll give it a whirl. I wonder what I could possibly get?” Although, now came the part to actually _using_ it like the other had. “So, uh, what do I do?”

“Hmm, maybe try focusing on what you did to get Force Palm to work?”

That was a good start—and it was the only technique he knew now. Nodding, Yuri mimicked what Flynn did, raising his left arm instead and focused his feelings again that produced Force Palm earlier. It took a little longer than last time however, he felt the surge of power running through his body and arms again. Rather than releasing it, he channeled it to his left arm instead of the right like the last two times.

The result happened just as quickly as Flynn’s Moonblast.

A blue, shapely orb manifested in Yuri’s palm, growing in size as its white center was blazing in a rapid, circular motion. Eyes wide in amazement and surprise, Yuri prematurely released that orb and watched it sail into the sky until it petered out some distance away like a blue, windy wave. Whoa, what was that?

“That… That was Aura Sphere,” Flynn, having watched, murmured in awe. “That’s amazing!” Yuri lowered his arm slowly and bore his gaze into his left paw. That power… It felt enriching. It felt like he had been drawing on something else and not just from his own self. Encompassing, like all around him. It was also drawing from something else—he felt it from his heart, or where it should still be. He pressed his left paw to his chest, feeling that it was still beating.

Not only that but seeing that technique. It dawned on him.

 _It was familiar_.

“Whoa…” he mumbled, flopping to the ground seconds later. Bad move, since Flynn was instantly upon him like a mother hen.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m good. That was just…y’know… _whoa_.”

Flynn still gave him a physical examination regardless and sat down when he deemed his friend was truly alright. “Yeah. I think that’s how it should be. Riolu don’t normally use Aura Sphere until they’ve evolved. They can’t adapt too readily to the power that technique entails because it draws heavily from their inner Aura and the Aura around them into a physical form. Since you’re inexperienced with it, it likely drew a lot from you than the norm.”

“…You sure know a lot about my species than you let on, Flynn.”

“Seriously? That’s your reply to my explanation? You’re not amazed by what you’ve done?”

“Nah, I’m totally amazed.”

“ _Honestly_ , Yuri.” The Riolu could practically feel the eye-roll in that response of Flynn’s due to his own half-sarcastic reply, “But truth be told, I’m still in the dark about your species. I only know what I know. While it might seem like I know a lot to you, I’m probably just scratching the surface of it. I’ve collected and read a lot of books and traveled around most of the Grass Continent, but my knowledge will only let me go so far.”

“That’s true,” Yuri agreed humbly. “So, I can use a move I’m not supposed to know until I’ve ‘evolved’ and you know a move that you’re never going to learn naturally, right?” The Fighting-type’s gaze went to both of their golden bands, “And it’s all because of these things.”

“Right.”

There was a pregnant pause once again as the two ambled in silence but it was snapped in half by the Riolu.

“You should keep yours on.”

“…Uh, what?”

“Your band thing,” Yuri pointed out, “You should keep yours on. Mine’s the only thing I have left of whoever I was. If you said yours was some keepsake, then you should keep it on you all the time. You never know; you might learn more about it. Someone ought to have seen something else like it before, right?”

That brought up an image to Flynn; his friend that was staying with him had one of these things, although the aforementioned friend said he had found it in a dungeon when on a mission. That friend had thought it was old junk, but put it away into his account in the Deposit Box system.

“Yeah, it’s a possibility.”

“Right. If so, we can ask someone if they have and maybe we could get more information about them. Problem solved.”

That seemed very simple but probably way too easy. Nothing’s usually that easy in life, Flynn gathered. It was a nice thought, but he wouldn’t put his hopes up too much. However, he could indulge in Yuri’s request for the time being.

“I suppose it won’t hurt to keep it on. I just found that it wasn’t… well, I don’t want anyone else knowing I could do that, like with my Wish ability.”

Yuri lied back down and closed his eyes as he spoke, “I get you. It’ll stay between us, like a secret.”

A secret that only the two of them would share between another. That brought a smile to Flynn’s face and he nodded his agreement. That sounded better and secretive. Keeping their abilities out of sight and out of mind from other prying eyes and ears would be for the best. But, there was something else they’d need to establish.

“We shouldn’t use those skills unless we absolutely _have_ to.”

“In dire situations? Gotcha.”

Well that was easy to convince him. Maybe a tad _too_ easy.

“Relax, Flynn. I’m not going to be giving our secret away so suddenly on the drop of a gald.”

“Alright, I trust you,” the Pikachu acquiesced. However, something else caught his attention at what Yuri just said and he quizzically turned back to the Riolu, head tilted. “Uh, what’s a ‘gald’?”

The Riolu opened his eyes, thought for a second, then shrugged indifferently. “The hell if I know.”

“But you just said it.”

“Yeah, but I have no idea why. I just did.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“ _You_ don’t make any sense.”

“Oh? And you’re volunteering to actually make sense now?”

“I’d sure do a better job at it than you, that’s for sure.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Yuri.”

“Whaaatever, Flynn.”

When their banter ended, the two of them slowly turned their heads, glancing to each other with serious expressions before bursting into spontaneous laughter. They had no idea why, but it felt so _good_ to laugh at their ridiculous arguing. It wasn’t meant to belittle the other, only playful in nature. They felt like brothers that always argued no matter what, like they’ve known each other for a long time and yet they only met yesterday. To him, Flynn _felt_ like a brother Yuri never had and he was glad to have met such a kind Pokémon. For Flynn, Yuri felt like the missing piece to his life he’d been missing all this time, excited to have someone to talk and confide with. It seemed like they couldn’t stay angry or upset with each other.

“Okay, okay, I think that’s enough,” Flynn said after he calmed down a moment later, glancing up and noticing the sun’s position. “We should set up camp.”

“Huh? That fast?”

“Yep. It’s past the third hour in the afternoon. We have plenty of daylight to spend on finding a good place to camp for the night and we want to traverse the next dungeon without it turning dark. We won’t be able to see in the dark.”

That was understandable, but there was still a lot of light to kill. However, the thought of asking to continue anyway was dashed when a loud rumbling of something interrupted. Yuri jumped to his feet instantly, paws flexed into fists as if ready to fight.

“What in the world? Where did that sound come from!?” He wondered, looking around anxiously for whatever it could be. What kind of Pokémon made that noise? It sounded close by, after all! “Flynn, did you-” When Yuri turned to the Pikachu, he caught the sight of the Electric-type blushing a little and looking away in embarrassment. Huh?!

“…Th-that was just my stomach,” Flynn admitted.

Yuri stared at him, bewildered. It lasted for a long minute. Flustered, Flynn waved his arms in front of him sporadically.

“D-Don’t look at me like that! I’m just very hungry, that’s all!”

“That’s all?” Yuri wondered with a tilt of his head. He dropped his fighting pose easily, “Good grief, do all Pokémon’s stomach rumble that loudly? That could be used as some alarm to wake other people up from a deep slumber if it wanted to.”

“Hey! That isn’t funny!”

It was here that Yuri discovered he liked to tease Flynn. He was easily ruffled when he was embarrassed. “Fine, fine. So, what’s on the menu for today? Are you going to cook anything?”

To that, Flynn shook his head, “No. For one, I’m not a Fire-type, so it’d be hard to get a fire going properly, plus the utensils to cook things with… I left at home.” The Pikachu’s blush seemed to cover his entire face as the redness spread up to his ears, “I… I can’t…can’t cook.”

“…You can’t cook?”

“No…”

Silence.

“I just… everything that I make sometimes _looks_ good, but it ends up tasting disgusting. I don’t even know why that is.” He pouted and grumbled, “I follow all the directions I’m given and it still ends up wrong. I tried working part-time at Spinda’s Café to make a little money before I decided to go my own way. It was horrible. The other Pokémon that were served my dishes got sick with my cooking. Someone had to call the town’s doctor to check the patients. I was told that I wasn’t adequate enough and was let go.”

Oh… That was pretty bad.

“So, when I ‘make’ anything, I just put apples and berries together on a plate to just save myself the disaster of cooking. Many Pokémon know simple dishes, like soups and pies… but I can never make any of those right.”

Yuri didn’t know what to really say to Flynn. Saying something like “keep trying and practicing” did seem like the right thing to say, but without the right utensils on hand, it didn’t look like it’d be happening anytime soon. Though he was amnesiac, Yuri believed he could make a good dish for them both. Hmm, maybe another time.

“…Well, don’t worry about it, Flynn. We’ll just eat the apples we have and call it dinner.”

“Yeah. I’d rather you not get ill from my disastrous cooking skills.”

“I’m sure you’re exaggerating. Once we get the right equipment, I want to personally taste it myself.”

“…You’re signing up for your own death, Yuri.”

“I’ll be the judge of that when it happens. Besides, you’ll just heal me from whatever ailment I decidedly happen to pick up. Now, let’s find somewhere to camp for the night.”

Flynn couldn’t say that he wouldn’t heal Yuri if it came down to it, but that would be because he’d have felt incredibly guilty for causing it in the first place. Sighing, the Pikachu and Riolu duo got up and walked another long distance from the exit of the Lush Prairie dungeon, putting it behind them as they ventured further and closer to the Oran Forest dungeon. Flynn had mentioned it’d be better if they got closer to it and set up camp there than further from it and be behind schedule tomorrow morning.

Forty-five minutes later, the grassy terrain and hills were disappearing and being replaced by trees around them. The sun, still in the sky, was being shut out by the tall foliage of the trees. There were plentiful with birdsongs everywhere from nearby bird Pokémon likely living in the trees. The pair, directed by Flynn, found a relatively decent spot to set up their encampment. It was about a ten minute walk away from the Oran Forest dungeon.

Yuri volunteered to gather firewood while Flynn set up their small tent. It was a simple white one that was small enough to house two, small Pokémon inside. Once it was pitched up, he dug a small hole for the fire pit and collected some stones to place around it. When the Riolu returned minutes later carrying a lot of firewood, which were mostly fallen sticks, with another set of apples on hand, he set them into the pit and the Pikachu used the sparks from his electricity to start a fire.

They took turns to watch the camp while the other left; Flynn had taken his pail to gather some water from the closest stream when Yuri watched the camp and fire. When he returned, Yuri had offered him what appeared to be a burnt apple on a stick. Flynn drew his nose up and away from it once catching a whiff of it.

“On come on, it isn’t that bad, Flynn!”

“Yuri, you _burnt_ it!”

“I did not. I roasted it!”

“That means the same thing!”

“No it doesn’t. Roasting it means I carefully held it over the fire to let it cook. Burning it means I let it overcook.” He held the apple to Flynn again, who was slightly recoiling, “Come on, try it.”

Flynn made a noise of discomfort, but when Yuri didn’t stand down, he heaved another sigh. “You can heal yourself if it’s really that bad, but I’m telling you, it isn’t,” Yuri added. Relenting, he took the apple from him, sniffing it once again and making a face.

“…Are you _sure_ it isn’t burnt?”

“Positive. It just smells funny like that because you probably hadn’t tried one before.”

“And you have?”

Yuri stopped for a second to think and realizing his memories were still as blank as a sheet of paper barring his recent memories, he shrugged. “I probably did. Taste buds never lie, I guess.” Flynn glanced to the roasted apple in his hands, feeling its warmth. Now that it was in front of him and he had to endure its scent for longer than a minute, he noted that it didn’t really smell that bad. Not as bad as he thought it would be. Well, he should at least try it and get his Wish technique ready in case of food poisoning.

He shut his eyes as he bit into it, chewed slowly and swallowed. The resulting silence spread between them only made apparent by the chirping of the smaller bird Pokémon in the distance.

“…Well?” Yuri asked, curious to what his friend thought of it.

“It’s… not that bad,” Flynn replied, actually amazed that it had a flavorful taste. He sampled it again to make sure he wasn’t imagining things and got the same result. “It actually tastes better this way.”

“Uh-huh,” Yuri agreed, satisfied that he was right this time. He served two for himself and another one for Flynn before they were full.

Once dinner was over, the pair had an idle conversation, mostly about the Oran Forest that Yuri inquired about and Capim Town. What he should expect in both places and a little more about the Fresh Meadow dungeon that they had to avoid at all costs. Flynn, eager to explain and forget about past woes of his own, indulged and answered all of Yuri’s questions to the best of his ability. There were also questions peppered in between about the different skills and Pokémon abilities. For example, Flynn had Static and Lightning Rod abilities, one which caused paralysis should a foe hit him directly and the other which drew in other electric attacks and nullified them if they were directed at comrades.

Yuri didn’t know which ones he had, but Flynn assured him that there was a school run by a Pokémon called Hawlucha in Capim Town that would be able to help him identify which ability or set of abilities he had. This Pokémon would also help him realize which techniques he knew, too. It was another reason to get there, Yuri thought.

Their conversation ended well into the night and Yuri retired early again. Flynn decided to stay up a little longer before he went to bed.

Sure that Yuri was sound asleep, the Pikachu went back to dwelling on that image that he had seen. To analyze it for what it could be. It had been a spontaneous occurrence and he wasn’t sure why it had been there, or why he had seen it.

_Fair hair._

_Blue eyes._

_Wearing white armor_.

The armor part looked like something from an Aggron’s, but different. The face of this unknown creature was odd. The fur on the creature, it was definitely hair, was on top of its head, but nowhere else visibly at least. The eyes were blue—and they were familiar. When he closed his eyes and concentrated on it now, Flynn could see the majority of this creature’s appearance. It was holding things in its hands, some long, white stick that looked metal, as if a Farfetch’d had encased their Stick with steel somehow. It stood upright on its legs, like many of the bipedal Pokémon do.

But, when Flynn looked closer or tried to, the image was looking in something else, that reflected his own face. Those blue eyes… were staring right at him? For some reason, he could feel those odd hands of the creature’s on his, peering directly at him. As if staring into his soul.

_You need to wake._

The Pikachu gasped as his eyes flung open, jumped up in a hurry and looked around in a panic. What had that been all about?! When he rubbed his eyes, he realized he had been lying down and somehow had fallen asleep? How did that happen? What was going on?! What was this about he needed to “wake”? Well, he was certainly awake now! He glanced skyward and noticed that the moon, blocked by the trees, was still in the sky. Its light was shining through although barely. The warmth of the fire was still going, he noticed after calming down.

“…What had that been all about?” Flynn mumbled to himself, rubbing his face and trying to get the jitters out of his system, “Why had that happened? What was that thing? What… What did it mean to ‘wake’…? And why did it sound so much like my own voice?” He groaned in frustration, unable to think for any answers. He plopped back down in front of the camp’s fire, intent to stare at it for hours until he would be too tired to stay up.

What did it all mean? He was so confused.

…

…

Though Flynn wasn’t able to see it, grey eyes had sprung open the moment he had panicked. Yuri had awakened inside the tent, but his eyes turned into a dark crimson. Sensors had gone up even as he lied awake in there, glaring at the ceiling of the tent. Flynn’s panic had sparked him through his sleep and he jolted awake the moment the Pikachu’s emotions had skyrocketed. He had been about to go outside and demand to know what was going on—but soon heard him talking to himself. He stayed quiet as he listened, eavesdropping without any true intentions of doing so—but couldn’t stop himself.

This was the closest he’d get to Flynn’s admitting to his earlier episode back in Lush Prairie. Not before the Mouse Pokémon confessed entirely, but it was enough. Something was definitely spooking him and Yuri was going to find out why.

Even if Flynn protested against it. He was his friend, shouldn’t he deserve to know what was wrong? How can Flynn want to help him so much and yet decline the same treatment in return?

‘ _I’m going to get to the bottom of this,_ ’ Yuri thought as he turned over on his side, frowning as he narrowed his gaze, staring at nothing in particular, ‘ _Even if you don’t want me to, Flynn. Something is_ wrong _and I won’t let it continue to fester_.’

He’d find the answer no matter what, his memories and priorities be damned for now. For the time being, he’d let it slide, but once he got enough evidence to confront Flynn, Yuri _will_ do the honors. For now, he had to concentrate on one thing at a time. He had to believe that Flynn would come to him when he was ready, but at the same time, he had to be ready to confront him, too. This didn’t seem normal at all and it bothered him. Flynn was his friend, he had to help him.

Tomorrow…

Tomorrow would be a new day.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoy!


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